Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Children of the Old Yishuv -- Jerusalem, 80 Years Ago

The American Colony photographers clearly loved to take pictures of Jewish children as they traveled around the Holy Land 80-100 years ago. Most of their pictures are group shots of children in the "New Yishuv," the settlements established by the Zionist movement after 1880. Many of these pictures have appeared in these pages in the past.

But their collection also includes pictures of children of the "Old Yishuv," the Jewish communities of Eretz Yisrael, predominantly ultra-Orthodox Jews, who lived in the holy Jewish cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Safad and Tiberias. Some of them are descendants of Jews who lived in Palestine over the centuries.

See previous posting on the children of the Bukharan Jewish community in Jerusalem. The Sephardi community moved to Jerusalem from the area of Uzbekistan in the 1890s.

Jewish boys on Sabbath, trying to avoid
being photographed (1934). See also here

Many of the Library of Congress pictures were taken on the Sabbath as the Orthodox Jews were walking to and from the Western Wall. The Jews did not want to be photographed and many tried to hide their faces from the photographer.

Click on a picture to enlarge. Click on a caption to view the original. Receive a Daily Picture by subscribing in the right sidebar and clicking "submit."

But wait, elsewhere in the vast Library collection is this picture (above right) of an "Ashkenazi Jew blowing Sabbath shofar" to announce the beginning of the Sabbath. The picture is dated 1934-1939. Yes, it is the same balcony, even some of the same children.

Where was the picture taken? The architectural style suggests the Batei Ungarin complex built in 1891 outside of the confines of the Old City for Hassidic Jews from Hungary. But then as today, the neighborhood was known for its insularity and xenophobia, and not likely to allow photographers to take pictures.

Another, more likely choice is the Batei Rand complex built in 1910 by a Hassidic Jew from Poland. Note the lintels, windows and security bars on the windows in the shofar blower's picture and this modern photo.

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About the Book

U.S. Interests in the Holy Land

Although Jewish life in the Holy Land reawakened during the 19th century, photographs of Jews in Palestine and the life they lived there are scarce. Collecting photographs from the archives of the the Library of Congress, the Ottoman Imperial Archives, the New York Public Library, libraries in universities and churches around the world, and in families’ albums, Lenny Ben-David provides a unique and visual history of the American fascination and dedication to a Jewish national home in the Holy Land.

Photo essays include fascinating stories such as why Lincoln wanted to visit Jerusalem, how the U.S. Navy saved the Jews of Palestine in 1915, why the Chief Rabbi of Palestine visited the White House in 1924, why there was a Ferris wheel on the holy Temple Mount, Mark Twain's stay in Jerusalem, and much more.

The Next Book: World War I in the Holy Land

Expected early 1918

About the Author, Lenny Ben-David

Lenny Ben-David has been involved in the study and enhancement of U.S.-Israel relations for more than 40 years. He served as director of AIPAC's Israel office for 15 years, and is the author of Myths and Facts published in 1985 and 1989. Ben-David served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Israel's Embassy in Washington, D.C for three years, and consulted for foreign governments and other corporations.

Ben-David is the Director of Publications at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

He and his wife reside in Efrat, Israel, where they are surrounded by children, grandchildren, and fruit trees.